Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1887-04-29
@.,.,a,..,,iA9tDn Standard
CHAPTER L

= - - - L.
CHAPTER L
Now come, Young Shs var. look alivei At
it seains Cone.-t e quick don't wa lie my
t''-'a TO m S. O." VT a threatening end
s .-,A4caut guIver aaI CT ac< OF long white
WI. ''4tl % o-ss or yoL Dye heaff'
VS.. res, Nj Fr.soo," be replel !, in
81 king voice. an 4 h raced him III up FOR
q -ner effort. he then add n lower
tor,s Of utter desperation l knor III never
b. able to do it."
''be quick about it, then" the man called
Frisco growied in brutal sayagenesi. ''Ivs
spent more time over eacl ing you this, you
young Emb Of evil, than Gil your cursed
ht.ie body Is worth. be.ieve . Oh do it Oh
PURPOSE"
NO. 1don't Idon't, Mr. Frisco" in an
agony of appeal, and WI n a Glance Of terror
al the shi.e t.ons in tie rin, III aster's strong
and merciless uapl.
''Ah, well, you'd better do t this time"
was tn, rel iy.
There was a moment Of inton-e silence IN
tie deserted circns ring, lighted only by one
harlng gas Jet ana sue. day yhl as could
e -;er feebly through the ventilation aper-
lures at the top Of the tent.
ihe boy, an ll-fei, meager-faced, un-
der-sizei LAD of II years old or so, with
TIM trembling lips, trhtenad by a life
Of misery and fear, and with big, bright,
blue eyes, unna urally ke n AMI quick,
stood ready to mount the ladlF lead
ing to the several trapeze swim % high
above their heads. Pc r little CHIP, poor
waif and STRAY, oouni body and soul 70 the
owners Of . travelling circusi He had now
been many days trying hard to achieve .
difficult and dangerous trapezs leap which
was, in fact utterly beyond the strength Of
his poor halls. arved little b,dy to perform.
He knew hA should never do it, hs hal tried
hard, nay, his very best. That leap was
never absent from his Thoughts for a single
instant during his waking hours, very sell
dom from his dreamsl Nj hit after n 'ght he
dreamt with horror Of his mornings rush
through the air, and Of the failure of his
little nervous fingers to catch the bar Of the
on his poor hard bed and Rugged himself to
make quite sure his body was still whole
and his bones unbroken.
''Come, up you gol How much more Of
my tirne are you going to wasteF' shouted
the ringmaster, savagsly.
So up 10 went, stool for moment on the
tiny platform high up aloft, quivsr.ng,
ehuddering figure IN a set Of wcrn and
ragged tights, looked desperately round, as
if appealing for help to thu rows and rows Of
empty ghost-like benches clenched his hands
hard for 4 moment, tho nervous hands
whose palms were hot and wet with the
sweat Of fear, wipe1 them hastily on his
tight-clad thighs, took the leap, and, mi sing
the bar, teHi
A fierce oath burst from the ringmas-
teris lips a. the lad fell with a dull thud
into the net below. There was a culver
and a crack Of thu long white whip, fol-
lowed by piercing shrisk as the boy
rolled out Of the netting on to the ground
and rushed for protection to the hated lad
der, which was no protection at ali from the
cruel lash welded by Frisco's strong and
merciless arm.
up you 60, no nonsense" he shouted
'Fairthis time. curse you, and you shall do
the trick without the netting"
'srn be killed." sobbed the boy.
tits all you're worth! Up you go, say,
and be quick about it." and crack of the
whip gave point and accent to the words,
only too well understood by bis wretched
little vict
So up he toi!sd once more, dashins the
tears from his eyes Is he climbed the cruel,
and to him now, dizzy height, then be
reached tho platform again, and looked his
fate hard in the face, as hard as the binding
tears, which came thick and fast over the
big blue eyes, would let him.
II he failed this time, oh, what could save
him theni He knaw that the absence of tbs
netting below would take all his nerve
away. and that the leap to follow would be
his last. II only he could manage to clutch
that bar this time! II only hi legs would
not shake under him, and his hands trenble
so! II only the tears which filed his
'sBe quickI" shouted the hoarse voice
below him. and 50, in haste, he took the
leap, and fell aodinf
The white thong flew out again with q
hiss, and curled once more round the tor
turcd and quivering little body. Again the
boys piercing shrieks echoed through the
gloomy circus tent
.sKou shan doit without the net n the ring.
master shouted, 6inging down his whip and
flying to unfasten the cords which held it in
place -.
As the boy rolled down at his feet he
kicked him aside, but the next instant he had
measured his length upon the ground, and
lay biting the hlthy and trampled sawdust
Of tho ring. ss
No byJova that he doss not you infer
nal, coward, 'shodted . veice hshb cars.
"a live. you shall have taste Z your
own treatment. Get upr'
As the bully regained his feet the thong Of
his own whip whizzei through the air and
caught him neatly in double circle round
the legs Ay, not only round the legs, but
fell again and again, in harp cutting strokes,
picking out deftly here and there every soft
point Of him, until pretty nearly every inch
Of his b-awny body had paid the dearest
penalty Of his ccwardce
At last he tell writhing to the ground
again, shrieking, groaning. swearing, ours
ing and vowing vengeance on the wretched
little acrobats avenger.
The newcomer stayed his arm and drew
the long white thong through his glovel
left hand, o IL it had done good service, and
he was grateful to 1t.
A long, lithe, handsome fellow he was
soldier all over him, well set up and smart
neatly and plainly dressed, with no sign q
ornamsnt about him but little pin Of lapi,
lAzuh In his white cotton cravat and {
eoupas Of diamond rings On TIA strong, barr
right hand, which eheld -ths stock Of the
whip. BE was Is cool q ice, too, and sur.
veyed the writhing, spluttsring bully on the
ground with infinite amussmsut in his steady
blue EYES, - blus a. those Of the astonished
little acrobat beside the ladder, who kept
dashmg his tears away and caught his still
sobbing breath a he gazed with awe and
reverence on 1.-THE swell wot had wolloped
Mr.. Frisco"-ths great and mighty Mr..
Frisco, who. to his poor, bsnightsd little
mind was The very embodiment Of strength
and power. =
q. a ~
gz|pEazii ] :